


Demolition Lovers

by caphound



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, High School, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, also tord and edd are just being dumb boys a lot of the time, everyone is a dumb high schooler, tord is bitter and oblivious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14043273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caphound/pseuds/caphound
Summary: In which Tord is oblivious and angsty, and Edd doesn't really know what's going on within his friend circle anymore.





	1. I

Tord leaned against the lockers, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jacket. He was zoned out slightly, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, a shorter boy with fluffy bangs covering his eyes walked around the bend of the hallway and leaned next to him, hitting his back against the lockers with a loud ‘thud’. He grinned widely at Tord, the shiny metal of his braces flashing. “Hey! Are you ready to go?” Edd asked excitedly. Tord gave a half-smirk and nodded. He flipped his hair a bit dramatically and started walking to the doors. “Yeah, let’s get outta here.” He pushed the door of the school open, holding it open for Edd. “After you, dear.” He said jovially. Edd scoffed. “You’re gay.” He said with a grin, walking out past Tord. Tord walked out after him, letting the door slam shut before the people behind them could get out. 

They walked downtown together, not in any rush. Edd looked at the buildings as they passed. He absently fluffed his bangs with one hand. “You ever think about what we’re gonna do after we graduate?” He asked. Tord thought about it for a moment. “Nah, not really. I know I don’t wanna stay here.” He said with a nonchalant shrug. “I’m just trying to get that far, you know?” He said with a half-hearted chuckle. Edd looked at him. “What do you mean?” He asked. Tord shrugged again. “Ehh, don’t worry about it…” He said. Edd glanced back at the sidewalk. Tord chewed the inside of his cheek and wondered to himself if he shouldn’t have said that.

Tord shuffled through record stacks, trying to find ones that he recognized. Meanwhile, Edd was simply looking at the walls, in awe of all of the records. “This is so cool, I can’t believe you haven’t showed me this before!” He exclaimed, unable to pick what stack he wanted to look through. Tord followed him as he walked from stack to stack, trying to make them neater again. “Never thought you would be interested in these.” He said. Edd shook his head. “No way, man, this is cool. I’ve never seen this many records in one place.” After looking through more piles, he turned to Tord. “Hey, do you even have a record player?” Tord shook his head. “Not yet, at least. I just collect them for now.” He replied, taking out a record and walking to the counter. Edd watched him as he bought it. Tord walked back over to him. “Let’s go get something to eat, yes?” Tord asked. Edd nodded. “Yeah, sure.” 

“There’s a pizza place nearby, I think.” Edd said, putting his hands in his hoodie pockets. Tord struggled to take his jacket off as they walked down the sidewalk again. “Didn’t know it’d be so fuckin’ hot today.” He grumbled, tugging the jacket off and tossing it over his shoulder. He smoothed his black undershirt out. “Which way is it? Are we going the right way?” He asked. Edd stopped and looked around, then nodded. “I think so, yeah.” He said. Tord nodded. He sighed a little. “I’m a little pissed that I don’t have the same lunch period as you.” He crossed his arms. “You, Tom, and Matt all have the same period and I’m stuck all alone. It sucks.” He lamented. Edd shrugged. “I guess, I kind of wish I could switch and have the same period as you instead, ahaha…” Tord gave him a confused look. “Why?”

Edd shook his head a little. “Nothing, it’s just different being around them without you…” He said. Tord frowned and stopped in front of a store. “This is the place, yes? It says pizza.” He motioned towards the store in front of them. Edd nodded. “Yeah, looks like it. I mean, it’s the only pizza place here, dipshit.” He stuck his tongue out. Tord playfully smacked his shoulder and Edd laughed a little. “I’m hungry, let’s go in.”

“So, what do you mean by ‘different’?” Tord asked, taking a big gulp of Coke. Edd sighed, taking a bite out of his pizza. “Tom.” He mumbled. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s gross.” Tord said. Edd took a sip of his drink. “I don’t care. Anyway… Okay, promise you won’t think it’s weird, okay? Don’t tell anyone I told you, especially Matt, or Tom. Well, definitely Tom. Please.” A little put off by Edd’s sudden seriousness, Tord leaned in. “Of course not.”

“Well, Tom has been like… I guess it comes off like he’s trying to be WAY too nice to me, or like…” Edd hesitated. “Uh, do I have to say it…” Tord nudged him. “Yes, you do. You already started and I’m only going to think it’s something absolutely awful.” Edd groaned. “Fine.” He inhaled. “It’s coming off like he has a thing for me or something.” Tord paused. Confused, he asked, “A thing? What do you mean by that?” Edd chuckled awkwardly. “Ah. Sorry, uh… You know, like, a crush.” The corners of Tord’s mouth twitched downwards. “Oh? That’s odd. Hm.” He tried to sound nonchalant about it, even though he suddenly felt very, very warm for some reason, and he was suddenly aware of his heartbeat thumping in his ears. “Well… How do you know?” Tord asked. 

Edd leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Well, he keeps being really touchy, and, well, you know. Tom’s not like that. And he keeps trying to compliment me, like, over the top sometimes, and he’s really awkward around me and Matt keeps like, winking at him when he’s talking to me. I don’t know.” He explained. Tord nodded solemnly. “And… Do you…” He hesitated. “Do you feel the same towards him?” Edd shrugged. “I dunno, I never really thought about Tom that way before, you know? Like, I just see him as a friend.” Tord nodded. “Are you… opposed to the idea of being with him?” Tord asked reluctantly. 

Edd snorted. “What, are you trying to set me up with him?” “No! No.” Tord yelled, then looked away awkwardly. “I… just was asking a question, asshole.” He grumbled. Edd grinned and tucked his arms behind his head. “And I answered it!” Tord stuck his tongue out at him. “Loser.” He quipped. “Dumbass.” Edd countered. “At least I’m not getting hit on by Tom.” Tord joked. Edd smacked his arm. “Shut up, dickhead.” Edd whined. “It’s not funny, I’m really confused. Like, I’m not completely opposed to being with him, but I’m not into him. Does that make sense?” Tord flinched a little. “Uh, yeah, I get what you mean but…” He paused. “Well, if you don’t actively want to date him, you shouldn’t pursue it because…” He grasped for a reason aside from the obvious one in his mind. “Uh, wouldn’t that be like… Unfair to Tom, no?” He tapped his fingertips together. “Yeah. That’s why you shouldn’t.”

Edd paused, and then nodded. He stood up and stretched. “Mm- Yeah, you’re right, Tord. I just don’t want to ruin our friend group by like, rejecting him or whatever.” Tord shrugged. “Do what makes you comfortable, man. That’s what matters to me.” He said. Edd smiled a little. “Pfft… Gay.” He crossed his arms. Tord shrugged. “Maybe so.” He said as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and started towards the exit. Edd rushed after him, and they went home for the night.


	2. II

Tord sat in his bed, sulking and staring at his phone as if it had insulted him. He was tempted to send a text to Tom asking him what the _fuck_ he thought he was doing hitting on Edd, _knowing_ everything that he knew. He seethed silently, laying in bed with his earbuds in. His phone was at full volume. He saw his door creak open, and sat up. A few seconds later, a little gray head poked in the door. “Simba, here boy…” Tord called half-heartedly to the Russian Blue cat sniffing the air. Simba looked up at Tord and walked over to him, tail raised high, and hopped onto his bed. Tord picked the cat up and looked into his green eyes. “What do I do, Simba…” He asked, sighing. The cat pawed at his hair lazily. Tord let the cat go, and he curled up beside him. 

While he knew he should simply go focus on finishing his homework (not like his teachers were unfamiliar with him not turning anything in), he knew it would be hard to focus on anything except this new information. Over and over, Tord mulled over what Edd had replied when he asked him if he was interested in Tom too. He laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to his edgy music, thinking about what that could mean. In the future, that could mean that they would end up together. Tord grumbled to himself. The heaviness in his chest, the slightly nauseous feeling, the uncomfortably strong butterflies fluttering around in his belly, it all seemed horribly _wrong_. Everything about this situation seemed wrong. Tom had never shown any interest in Edd whatsoever, and if anything, preferred to hang out with Matt more than anyone else. What could have happened while Tord wasn’t there?

He rolled onto his side and stared at a wall. Not for the first time, he questioned _just why_ did he care this much about his best friend’s love life? While parts of him did want to know, there was a bigger part that didn’t want to know. Or, better yet, did not want to accept what it already knew. Tord jumped as his phone buzzed.

 _ **edd**_ [9:05pm]  
hey did u do ur geo hw i left my book @ school 

_**tord**_ [9:06pm]  
yea just lemme take a pic of it 

Tord rolled out of bed and dug through his backpack, searching for the completed geometry worksheets. He was thankful that he always completed those in class, because those were what Edd often asked for help with. He flipped through his messy folders, until he finally found the correct worksheets. He snapped a few pictures of each one and went through to see which one was the most readable. After picking which ones were suitable, he sent them to Edd.

 _ **tord**_ [9:17pm]

 

 _ **tord**_ [9:17pm]  
sry tht took so long, had 2 take a good pic cuz I didn’t want u 2 not be able 2 read it sdlfsdfs

 _ **edd**_ [9:18pm]  
no dw its okay it wasn’t too long! Thank u sm :-) 

Tord smiled at his phone and sighed, falling back onto his bed. He looked at the curious gray cat who was now sniffing his face. He gently rubbed the cat’s back. “I’m so confused, Simba.” He mumbled. The cat purred and tilted his head. Tord scrolled back through his older messages with Edd, and sighed. He found himself doing this more and more lately, but he couldn’t really place why, aside from how rereading things that Edd told him made him feel better. Not about anything in particular, just in general. Somehow, even though he had been friends with Edd for quite some time, he never really realized how much he made an impact on him. Tord chewed the inside of his cheek.

Constantly, he found himself getting those damned butterflies whenever he spoke to Edd, joked around with him, or got to see the way his whole face lit up when he smiled… He groaned and covered his face with both hands. Why did he have to think about Edd like that? It wasn’t like _he_ was the one with the crush on Edd, here… 

He stared at the ceiling and thought about it for a while. Why was he so opposed to the idea of having feelings for his best friend? Didn’t people develop feelings for their best friends all the time? He’d seen it in so many movies, and in so many love stories, real and fictional, that it couldn’t just be a myth or a cliché that best friends were more likely to fall for each other. Unfortunately, the cold truth of the world was that it was often unrequited, so that might be why he was avoiding the concept…

Or, he was simply mistaking his platonic feelings for romantic ones since Tord had never been in a real relationship, or even been in love before. Everything that he had called a crush up until this point had just been fabricated to get people to leave him alone with rumors for never liking anyone. He never truly felt anything for the people he said he did. Maybe he was just mistaking Edd for someone he could fall in love with, because he was very funny, and nice, and he wasn’t bad looking at all…

Tord smacked himself in the head, growling in annoyance. If only his stupid brain would get off the subject of this, he could go back to focusing on his work. But, he didn’t believe that would happen anytime soon, so he sat up and got on his phone and started searching Google for the answers that he was too afraid to ask himself.

 

\---

“Tord!” Edd rushed over to Tord in the hallway. “Can you come to my house afterschool today? Please?” Tord looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, why? What do you wanna do?” He asked. “Um, well… Sorry, it’s just… I need help with my geometry stuff, and some history stuff. I don’t really know any of this stuff, and I know you took history last semester…” Edd smiled sheepishly. Tord smiled a little and shrugged. “Don’t be sorry. I’ll walk home with you, okay? Meet me by my locker again.” He said. Edd looked relieved. “Thanks, Tord.” He turned to walk away, and then stopped. “Oh, uh, by the way…” “Yes?” “Ah… Have a nice rest of the day!” He gave Tord a bright smile and shuffled away. Tord rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, “Geez.” 

Once Tord and Edd were back at Edd’s house, they sat on the couch, all of Edd’s unfinished work and study guides spread across the coffee table. Ringo was sitting on his shoulder, chewing at his hair. “Okay, so… Can you explain the geometry stuff first? I have a test on that first block tomorrow, and no matter how hard I try, I just don’t get what the teacher is trying to say.” He said. Tord shook his head disdainfully. “That teacher doesn’t know how to teach, first of all. I have to teach myself, honestly. Awful.” He picked up a pencil and began scribbling the equations down on a piece of scrap paper. 

“Okay, so… These are the steps to getting the answer. You get it? I can explain if you don’t.” Tord looked at Edd. He was intently reading over the steps Tord had written down. He then nodded. “Kind of. I’ll do the next one and you tell me if it’s right.” He said uncertainly. Tord nodded. “Take all the time you need.” 

Edd finished the second problem and motioned to it, grinning proudly. “I did all the steps you did!” He said. Tord looked over it, and nodded, a little impressed. “Yeah. You’re… a fast learner.” He said. Edd beamed. “Thanks.” Tord stretched and rubbed Ringo’s head. She purred and meowed happily. “So, is that all you needed in geometry?” Edd nodded. “Yeah, can you just help me memorize the history stuff? I can’t do it alone.” He asked. Tord agreed, and they began studying it together.

Once they were done, Edd let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man, I really don’t know what I would do if I ended up failing these classes…” He gathered the papers off the table and started putting them away in his bag. Tord adjusted how he was sitting on the couch and stretched. “It’s no problem.” He was quiet for a minute, hesitant, and then added, “I really don’t like seeing you so stressed, so… I wanted to do what I could to help.” Edd stopped shoving papers in his backpack for a second. Without turning around, he said, “Yeah… You’re kind of always helping me, aren’t you?” He said, a hint of something dejected in his voice. 

Tord thought about putting a hand on his shoulder but didn’t feel that he should. Instead, he simply said, “I don’t mind at all, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Edd zipped up his backpack and moved around, trying to get comfortable. “Well… I feel like I’m always asking for your help, you know? I don’t want it to seem like I’m using you or anything…” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Tord vehemently shook his head. “No way, I know you wouldn’t do that!” Edd didn’t reply. He sat facing the TV, arms crossed and somewhat sulky. Tord grabbed his hood and pushed it onto his head and messed up his hair. “Stop being like this, loser.” He said. Startled, Edd nearly fell off the couch. Without thinking, Tord grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

The two were silent for a minute. Then, Edd started laughing. “What was that?” He asked. Tord gave him a half smile. “Well, I mean… You were falling, and I didn’t want that to happen, uh…” He wondered to himself why his stomach felt fluttery again and why his head felt full of fog and clouds. 

Edd didn’t make any moves to push Tord off him, instead leaning against him and wiggling around a bit to make himself comfortable. “No homo.” He mumbled, now with his head on Tord’s shoulder. “I’m just, really tired and stuff.” Tord nodded. “Yeah… It’s uh, a bro thing.” He said. They both laughed at that. “Gimme the remote, I wanna see if there’s anything good on.” Edd said.

\---  
The next time Tord checked his phone, it was nearly 8pm. Edd was dozing off beside him, still leaned against him. He wondered if there would be an issue if he just stayed, a little bit longer… It wasn’t as if he would fall asleep here, anyway. Even if it was late, and he was getting tired, Tord never fell asleep without meaning to. Never.

Or at least, that’s what he thought until he woke up facedown on the couch at 1am. Groggy and bleary-eyed, he jerked upright and glanced around at the living room. The TV was on some infomercial, and Edd was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he realized that he HAD fallen asleep here, and clumsily pawed around on the couch looking for his phone. It had fallen between the cushions. He shoved his arm into the couch frantically searching for the phone, when Edd walked back into the room

He was in his pajamas now, his hair damp from a shower. “Sorry, I didn’t wanna wake you up…” He smiled and walked to the couch. As he got closer, he realized Tord had his arm shoved into the couch. “The fuck are you doing to the couch?” He said, biting back a grin. Tord glared up at him. “I’m looking for my phone and my arm got stuck.” 

Edd snorted at the sight before him. Stifling laughter, he asked, “You need some help?” Tord gave him the same look as before. “Hm, I don’t know. What do you think? Yes, I need help, asshole.” He grumbled. Edd walked over to the couch and pulled one of the cushions out. Tord picked up his phone and checked it, leaning against the opposite armrest. “Says Mom called me. Shit.” He growled. “Can I just stay here tonight? I really don’t wanna walk home.” Edd shrugged. “Yeah, sure, I don’t mind.” 

“Okay… I’ll just call Mom back tomorrow, I guess. She probably don’t care that much.” He shrugged and sat back down on the couch. Edd gave him a disdainful look. “Are you gonna sleep like _that_?” He asked. Tord looked down at his outfit. “I guess? I didn’t bring anything to change into.” Edd frowned a little. “I don’t think my stuff will fit you, so… Do you want me to go see if I have anything?” He asked.

Tord shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” He walked out of the room. Edd shrugged a bit and laid across the couch, clicking absently through channels. Ringo hopped up onto his stomach and meowed at him. He smiled at her and pet her head. Tord came back into the room, carrying his jacket, pants, and shoes in one arm. “I’ll just sleep like this.” He said.

Edd glanced at him and then nodded. “Okay…” Tord walked back to the couch. “Move.” He said, dropping the clothes in a pile on the floor and shoving Edd’s legs out of the way so he could sit down. Edd rolled his eyes and stretched out again, putting his legs across Tord. Tord gave him a look, too tired to object to it. Edd smirked and moved away to give Tord his space. Tord stretched out, yawning and stretching loudly. 

“Stop that, you’re making _me_ tired too…” Edd said, stifling a yawn. “Good. You need to go to bed.” Tord said, laying down against the armrest, resting his head on a throw pillow. Edd began to protest but ended up yawning in mid-sentence. “Okay. Maybe I should go to sleep.” Edd hesitated a little. “Do you want to come sleep upstairs, or do you just wanna stay down here?”

Tord thought about it sleepily. On one hand, he would love nothing more than to spend the night in Edd’s room. He’d done it many times before, and it sounded very appealing right now. However, on the other hand, it was so far to the stairs, and he was so lazy, so tired… Tord groaned and sat up. “I’ll come upstairs in a few minutes.” He mumbled. Edd stood up and crossed his arms, looking down at Tord. “Nuh uh, you’ll fall asleep before you come upstairs.” He objected. Tord looked up at him dolefully. “Mm… Okay. Fine. I’m getting up.” He struggled to get off the couch, the weight of his exhaustion weighing heavily on his body. 

As soon as they got to Edd’s room, neither of them had qualms about climbing into the same bed. Tord felt his heartbeat quicken a little, but that was commonplace. After all, it wasn’t the only time that Edd made him feel this way. Too tired to be embarrassed, Tord curled up on his side and dozed off, Edd falling asleep soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I MEANT 2 POST THIS EARLIER BUT! the 21st was my birthday so i was going out & such  
> anyway i hope this is good! its longer


	3. iii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh sorry for not uploading but enjoy this double upload!

“Tord- TORD!” Tord jerked awake, nearly headbutting Edd in the process. “Get up, we’re gonna be late, it’s eight already!” Edd anxiously rubbed his hands together. Tord rubbed his eyes, groggy and irritable. “It’s the weekend, isn’t it?” Tord asked with a hint of annoyance. Edd shook his head. “It’s Friday, dummy, now get out of bed and hurry up! We’re gonna miss the bus.” Tord groaned and walked to the bathroom.

 

He swished mouthwash around in his mouth and ran a brush through his hair. Tord popped his contacts in and blinked sleepily. He walked out to the living room where he left his clothes last night, along with his bag. He crouched down and dug through the bag, taking out a spray can of dry shampoo and spraying it in his hair horns. He pulled his pants on and put his shoes on, carrying his coat and bag behind him with one arm and using his free hand to fluff his hair.

 

“Are you ready?” He asked, still not all there. Edd turned around, shouldering his backpack. “Um- uh, yes. I think.” Tord nodded. “You sure you got everything?” Tord asked, crossing his arms. In all the years he’d known Edd, he knew that his best friend always ended up leaving something at home and complaining about it all day at school.

 

Edd bit his lip and looked around the room. “Uhm… No. I mean, yes. I didn’t forget anything this time.” He turned to leave. “Come on, hurry!” He rushed out the door. Tord groaned and followed him to the bus stop. They made it in time, with a few minutes to spare. Edd smiled sheepishly at Tord. “Um, sorry for rushing you, I just didn’t wanna miss the bus again…”

 

Tord shrugged. “I don’t mind.” He mumbled. Tord leaned against the bus stop sign, closing his eyes and yawning. “You’re really not a morning person, are you?” Edd asked, looking at him in amusement. Tord half-opened his eyes. “Nope. Unless I’m waking up to you, that is.” He gave an exaggerated wink.

 

Edd laughed a little bit. Tord smiled and closed his eyes again. The bus pulled up and the doors opened. The two walked into the bus and sat in the back, where both of them usually sat. Tord sat near the window, but once he sat down he became aware of the soreness in his chest. Confused at first, he realized something else he forgot last night. _Shit._ He thought to himself, and made a mental note to go to the bathroom once he got to school and take his binder off. Besides, he had that big coat he always wore, who would notice anyway?

 

As usual, he and Edd sat in near silence except occasional idle conversation and dumb jokes. Tord yawned and closed his eyes. Last night had been fun, but he regretted waking up at one in the morning and he regretted not getting some coffee on the way out of Edd’s house. Besides, he knew where the coffee maker was, and if he had known that they weren’t really late to the bus stop…

 

“Hey, Tord?” Tord looked up at Edd. “Yeah?” Edd put his phone into his pocket. “You’re from a big city, right?” He asked. Tord nodded. “What’s it like there?” He asked.

 

Tord shrugged. “It’s really nice, there’s a lot to do… It can be kind of overwhelming, but you’ll never be bored… You can walk places a lot instead of having to drive a half hour to get to a fucking Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere.” He said with a lopsided grin. “I’d take you one day, but I don’t think you’d like it. It’s pretty at night, though. Looks like a computer wallpaper, you know?” Edd nodded thoughtfully. “I kind of wanna visit one day, but… You’re right.” He sighed a little. “I don’t know if I could deal with all the stuff, and I’m kind of afraid I’ll get lost or something.” Edd glanced at the floor.

 

Tord shrugged. “I don’t think you’d get lost if I was with you. I’ll make sure.” He paused, and then put his hand on Edd’s shoulder. “Hey, we can just hold hands if you’re that afraid.” Tord said with a shit-eating grin. Edd rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. “Shut up, idiot.” He mumbled. Tord laughed and messed up his hair. Edd gasped and gave Tord an exaggerated offended look. Tord stuck his tongue out, crossing his arms. He felt a strong fluttering in his chest when he looked at Edd, so he decided to look anywhere but at him.

 

Once they got to school, Tord said goodbye to Edd and rushed to the bathroom to change out of his binder. His teacher would just have to deal with the fact that he was late today – it wasn’t as if he bothered to show up on time any other day. If anything, he was less late than usual thanks to Edd making him wake up and leave with him. Usually, Tord just walked or got his mom to drive him on her way to work.

 

The only issue with being late every morning was the people staring at him and missing the announcements. Nothing important ever really got announced on them, however, so Tord didn’t really see much consequence in showing up late.

 

Once he got to class, things stayed virtually the same as every other day. He ignored what was going on in his first block, instead scrolling on his phone and listening to music in one headphone. It was just his theater class, and while it was fun every once in a while, most of the time it was just things that he didn’t mind tuning out. Tom was in this class, and he wanted to take extra steps to avoid him and make him see that he wasn’t available to speak to him.

 

After how he had been acting towards Edd, he spent a majority of the time in this class moping about how betrayed he felt by Tom. Matt hadn’t shown up in the conversation lately, and since Tord had no classes with him this semester, he barely saw or heard of him anymore. Edd never really brought him up, which was a little peculiar.

 

Then again, it seemed more and more like Edd was avoiding talking about what went on at lunch these days. Maybe he noticed that Tord was uncomfortable about the topic and didn’t want to upset him? He smiled a little to himself. Yes, that was something that Edd would do. He joked around with Tord, but he knew that he cared about him and he showed it in little ways like that all the time. Maybe that’s why Tord was thinking of him all the time – just because no one else really gave him a second thought, and because he was his best friend. 

 

 _Yeah, that’s what it is._ Tord told himself as he skipped a song he didn’t like. _Edd’s just really considerate and he’s a good friend. I don’t really have anyone else to think about. Nothing else._ Although, at this point it felt more like he had to convince himself.

 

He went through the rest of his classes the same as every other day, simply counting down the minutes until he got to see Edd and go home. Once the dismissal bell, he practically shoved people out of his way to get to his locker. Edd was already there, which surprised him a little. Usually, he would take his time because he was speaking to teachers after class to make sure he understood the material or if not, scheduling tutoring, or grabbing something that he forgot in another class.

 

Today, however, he was simply leaning against Tord’s locker and hugging himself.

 

Tord walked over to him, scanning his face for something that would hint at what was going on that had changed. It was kind of hard, considering Edd’s bangs were so long. “Hey.” Tord said warily. Edd nodded. “Um, hey, Tord… Do you mind if we walk around for a while?” His voice sounded a little shaky. Concerned, Tord nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He walked beside Edd with both hands in his jacket pockets.

 

Once they got outside, Edd stopped walking, looking around to make sure no one else was around them. He averted his gaze and shuffled around awkwardly. “Tord, I… Um, Tom asked me out to the dance. You know, the one that was on the announcements today?” Tord went silent and stared at him. He felt his hands get cold and shaky. Those _motherfucking announcements_. They never mattered to him, and he had just been thinking about that today. What bitter fucking irony was that!

 

“Right… and you’re thinking of going.” Tord finished, his voice lowering. He started walking home. Edd ran up beside him and kept walking beside him. “Well! I don’t know yet, I mean… I kind of wanna go, and… Well, I really really don’t know yet, Tord.” He shrugged. “It’s not like anyone else would ask me anyway.” He mumbled. Tord felt a jolt of… _something_ run through his body. It felt electric, startling, making his heart kick into overdrive. “You can’t be sure about that, you know… But if you want to go, that’s your choice.” Tord said flatly.

 

Edd bit the inside of his cheek and looked up at Tord. He ran a hand through his own bangs. “I don’t know if I want to… I mean, dances aren’t really my thing anyway, but…” He trailed off, and then shook his head. “Anyway, I was gonna ask if you were gonna go… I know you don’t really like dances and all either, but… I dunno, I feel like I’d be more comfortable going somewhere that I know you’ll be?” Edd shrugged.

 

Tord thought about it for a moment, before nodding. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be going.” He said. “I don’t think I’ll bring anyone, but I’ll go anyway.” Tord said. The two walked in heavy silence for a few minutes, before Edd broke the silence.

 

“Hey, there’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Tord looked up at him quizzically. “Yes?” Edd stopped, crossing his arms and giving his best serious look to Tord. “Have you been eating lunch? I feel like you’ve been skipping again.” Edd asked.

 

Tord grinned sheepishly. “Wow, you caught me. Yeah, I hate that fucking cafeteria. It smells like shit and it’s…” He simply shook his head. “Too much. Too many people, too many sounds… you know.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s alright, because I still eat breakfast and dinner, so it’s not like I’m going to die or anything.” Tord dismissed it.

 

Edd huffed. “No. No, Tord, that’s not okay. Look, come on, let’s go get something now. There’s a place around here, right? Let’s just go get you something. We can get it to go and just eat it at home, uh, I mean… Your place.” He took Tord’s hand and started turning to where most of the little stores were located downtown. Despite knowing that this meant nothing, Tord stared at their hands, his face heating up and his stomach twisting itself into knots.

 

Although he felt as if there was a whole butterfly garden flapping around inside of him, he didn’t want Edd to let go; preferably, not at all, but he knew that was unrealistic, so he just took what he could get and walked to the stores hand-in-hand with Edd.

 

Once they picked up food and went home, they continued the topic of the dance. Edd laid across the recliner in Tord’s living room, Tord sitting on the armrest of the sofa. “So, about the dance… Are you really planning on going, or are you just going for me?” Tord shrugged. “I guess a little of both? I need to get out more anyway, and I wanna be there in case Tom turns out to be super boring.” He stuck his tongue out. “I’ve always been the more interesting one, no?” He half-joked.

 

Edd laughed a little. “I mean… You’re not wrong.” He said, shaking his head. “I really think it was nice of him to offer to take me, though…” He took a sip of his cola. Tord struggled to maintain his smile. “Yeah? I think so too.” He tried to think of some way to change the topic before he slipped up. “Anyway, you know I’m trying to get my permit this year, yeah?” Tord asked.

 

Edd snorted. “It’s about time. You’ve been saying you’re gonna get your permit since your fifteenth birthday. Aaaand, your seventeenth just passed.” He leaned over to lazily swat at Tord’s arm. “You’re awful, Tord.” Tord moved from the sofa armrest to the recliner armrest, leaning onto Edd a little. “Yeah, I know! Anyway, I’m serious this time. I’ve been driving anyway-” “Without your permit? You really are awful, Tord. You’re gonna get in a loooot of trouble if they catch you…”

 

Tord messed up Edd’s hair. “Let me speak, loser. I’m going to retake the test this week, so I can probably start driving you around if you want. I doubt my mom will come with me. And… I really don’t think I want you two to spend time around each other, you know.” He let out an unsettled laugh.

 

Edd gave him a sympathetic look. “Yeah… I can’t wait until you get out of here. And I wanna leave here too, but…” He looked away. “I really just hope things work out for me in the future. I don’t know if I can do it.” Tord crossed his arms and leaned back. “What do you mean? Do what?” He asked. Edd shook his head.

 

“All the stuff that comes with becoming an adult, you know? Taxes, jobs, college, that shit. I’m probably not gonna even be able to afford rent, and it’s not like anyone in my family would help _me_ , because they couldn’t really give a shit about me.” He furrowed his brows and looked down at his lap.

 

Tord chewed the inside of his cheek. _Shit,_ he thought. _I shouldn’t have started this conversation. Now he’s upset._ Tord quickly replied, “Hey, that’s not gonna happen to you. Fuck them, I’m always going to be here for you, so don’t talk like that!” He put his arm around Edd’s shoulders. “B… Besides, I’m a grade above you, so it’s not like I won’t have time to get situated before you graduate. You can just come live with me once you graduate, since I’ll probably have my own apartment.” He shrugged.

 

Edd was a little taken aback, but managed to reply, “Thank you…” Tord looked at him and smiled, earning a bright grin in response. His chest tightened and he wanted nothing more than to lean in, and…

 

“I think I should get home, though. D’you wanna watch something on rabb.it tonight once I finish my homework and eat dinner? You can call me, too, if you want, or just call me.” Edd hugged Tord tightly. “And… Thank you, again… I’ve been worrying about that stuff for a while.” He hesitated to break the embrace, and then let go, turning to leave. Tord snapped out of his stunned state and squeaked out a little “bye!” in response, before collapsing sideways across the recliner, faceplanting right into the cushy armrest. His face was on fire, lit up red like a Christmas light.

 

As he laid stretched across the chair, all he could wonder was _how the FUCK was he constantly sinking deeper into this feeling?_


	4. iv

The next week, the dance was coming up. It was a Wednesday, and the dance was Friday. Tord was dreading it, but he needed to show up, he thought. He couldn’t just sit at home, pining, while Tom and Edd danced the night away. Hell, if anything, he could just pine at school with a can of beer or a glass of punch. At least the loud music and dancing teens would distract him more than sitting alone in bed would.

 

Tord had gone out of his way to avoid Tom lately, and the bastard hadn’t seemed the slightest bit perturbed by this. He only did this because he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know how much this burnt him up inside, or how desperate he was for Tom to come up to him and tell him it was all an elaborate prank. Tom _knew_ how he felt, and he shouldn’t be fucking around with his feelings like this. Hell, Tom hadn’t even known Edd until Tord introduced the two, and that was what really left Tord beating himself up late at night when he couldn’t sleep.

 

Lucky for Tord, Edd had been so caught up in planning for the dance that he hadn’t noticed how tired and irritable Tord had gotten. He preferred to just walk home alone instead of letting Edd come over for an hour or so. If Edd asked him about it, he simply brushed it off by saying he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. It wasn’t a lie, and Edd didn’t question further. It wasn’t like Tord _had_ to tell him why, and it would’ve only complicated things further.

 

He sat in second block, barely conscious and using all his brainpower to _not_ run out of the classroom. It was loud, bright, and achy in the room. He felt like his head would burst if he spent another minute listening to these people argue and laugh and shout. Tord doodled on his notes, barely listening to the teacher ramble on about chemistry.

 

As he drew wolves on his papers, he beat himself up for being selfish. After all, if Edd was happy, shouldn’t he be happy for him? Isn’t that what he was supposed to feel for someone he cared so deeply about? What kind of friend did this make him?

 

Tord bit back a groan as a wave of pain hit his head and his gut. Of course, it was probably the lack of sleep and food combined with the three coffees he had ate today. He tasted bitterness in the back of his throat and coughed a little. The kid beside him gave him a dirty look and he stared back with a scowl. There were only twenty minutes left in the class, so he didn’t want to get worked up by the assholes in this class so late in.

 

Once the bell finally rang, Tord dragged himself off of the stool that made his ass hurt and walked to the other side of the room where the bags were stored. He grabbed his backpack, slid one strap on, and trudged out of the room.

 

He almost smacked right into Tom’s back. Tom turned around and gave him a big grin. “Hey, Tord. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Tord silently glared up at him and kept walking to the cafeteria. Tom followed him. He crossed his arms. “What’s your problem?” Tord stayed silent. It was better than saying something rude and having it get back to Edd. The last thing he needed was for Edd to have to deal with conflict between his best friend and his – his – whatever Tom was to him.

 

Instead, he glared up at Tom. “I’m not in the mood to talk.” He said flatly, picking up the pace. Tom chuckled. “What, is it because I’m going with Edd now?” Tord flinched and walked a little bit faster.

 

Tom laughed. “It is! You’re jealous, aren’t you?” He exclaimed. Tord stopped and stared at him. “Why are you doing this? You haven’t even known him for a year!” He snapped. Tord felt heat creeping up his neck and a painful swelling in his chest. “What, do you think this is funny?” He hissed, feeling tears prickling behind his eyes.

 

Tom stared at him, and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could finish, Tord ran off to the cafeteria. He didn’t care who saw, didn’t care who was laughing at him or calling him names anymore. It didn’t matter, and he regretted letting himself slip up back there, but he couldn’t go back and undo that. He shoved open the door to the usually-empty bathroom and walked into a stall, sitting up against the wall and hugging his knees to his chest.

 

He took deep breaths and tried to compose himself. Tord was sure that the only reason he was so unable to hold himself together, so _volatile_ , was because he had spent the past few nights lying awake until six in the morning trying to figure out what he was going to do this Friday, trying to figure out himself. He ended up only getting around an hour of sleep now. He stayed curled up like this while thoughts swirled incomprehensibly in his head.

 

Though he tried his best to sort out these thoughts, all he ended up doing was tangling them further. He wondered if he should just cry and get it over with, but he didn’t seem able to cry. He let out a dry chuckle. Of all the places he thought he would end up in this year, it wasn’t sitting in a nasty school bathroom on the verge of tears over a damn school dance. This sounded like some shitty Lifetime movie to him. These kinds of things usually were nothing to him, but when it came to Edd, he felt like a living cliché.

 

He snapped out of his thoughts as the bell rang. Rushing to get out of the bathroom before the inevitable wave of students came in, he slid his backpack on and ran to his third block. The rest of the day stayed uneventful aside from his near-meltdowns thanks to the loudness of his classes combined with his sour attitude and lack of sleep.

 

On the way out of the school, Tord vowed to himself that he wouldn’t let himself end up staying up so late on the night of the dance. He could mess up these days as much as he wanted, but he wanted Friday to go well, or at least as well as it could go when Edd was dancing with someone else.

 

Tord collapsed on his bed and almost instantly fell asleep once he got home from school. He woke up around 9pm, groggy and achy. He had fallen asleep in his school clothes with his phone right in front of him on the couch. His neck was sore from using the hard armrest as a pillow, his head was throbbing, and he was parched. He unlocked his phone and rolled onto his back, staring at the bright screen as if staring into the sun.

 

He had received around ten Discord messages from Edd, all of them asking if he was okay and telling him to call when he could. Tord groaned a little, more upset that he had worried Edd than anything else. He tossed his phone back onto the cushions and got up to go get a bottle of water and make a pack of noodles for dinner. His mother was still at work, probably for more overtime, but that was perfect. He preferred being alone rather than around her, and besides, he really needed alone time sometime like now.

 

After cooking himself a measly dinner and drinking some, he felt a little more awake. At very least, his headache was gone. Tord went upstairs to go get on his laptop and reply to Edd. He still felt guilty for worrying him at all, but he supposed that Edd would be too preoccupied to inquire any further than just the same general concerns.

 

Once he got upstairs, he logged in to fully reread what Edd had sent him. When he had just woken up, all he really did was skim and catch a few words here and there because looking at his phone screen, even as low as the brightness was, felt like staring into a light bulb.

 

_**edd**_ [6:43pm]

  
hey tord  
was kinda worried abt u 2day are u ok?!???  
u havnt been walking w me lately and its kinda worrying me  
ik u might be busy or something but I just worry abt u sometimes even if I don’t really show it often :p sorry about that btw  
anyway I hope ur having a nice night either way…

  
_**edd**_ [7:24pm]

  
[IMG](http://image.blingee.com/images18/content/output/000/000/000/745/703408339_7372.gif)  
this reminded me of us hehe  
please message me when you can I miss youuuu im sure you just fell asleep or something but  
I just wanna know how ur day was and shit u know

 

Tord couldn’t help but smile at his messages. He felt warmth in his chest, and messaged him back, telling him the same excuse that he was just tired and that he was busy from school, but he would be better by Friday and that they could walk home together the next day. The two talked over Discord for the next few hours, Tord carefully avoiding the subject of both Tom and the upcoming dance the best that he could. He was scared that Tom had told Edd about the incident today, but Edd wasn’t acting very off in relation to Tom and there was no reason why he should suspect that, so he relaxed.

 

Once Tord finally fell back asleep, it was around 3am. For once this week, he did end up sleeping well without keeping himself awake worrying about whether he was an awful person for being upset with Tom for trying to go out with Edd or wondering if he should do something differently than what he was. However, that didn’t seem to make it any easier for him to wake up Thursday morning. He dreaded this day – the day before the dance, the last day before he found out what would happen one way or another.

 

As usual, he was late again, mainly because it took him so long to work up the willpower to actually get out of bed and show up to school. The whole day, no one in his classes, himself included, could truly focus on their work. Everyone was in heavy anticipation of the dance coming up tomorrow night. This only served to make Tord even more anxious about it. He hated crowds with a fiery passion, but he couldn’t just leave Edd there after he had already promised him that he would be there.

 

The day went by as usual, with Tord keeping one earbud in all throughout his fourth block, since it was an easy A class and an elective. Everyone stayed silent for once during the announcements, waiting to hear about the dance. Over the intercom, the principal announced… the dance would be canceled due to lack of interest.

 

Everyone was irritated, and several students left to go get refunds for their tickets. Tord was confused, but somewhat relieved. After all, hadn’t he heard almost everyone talking about the dance tomorrow? Many other people had the same idea, talking amongst themselves, and from listening in, he figured out that most of the people who were talking about it decided to wait until the end of the day today to buy tickets, without knowing that the deadline had been Tuesday. Tord shook his head to himself and paused his music, wrapping his earbuds around his phone and sliding his bag onto his shoulders.

 

As he walked out of the classroom, he felt a pang of sadness. He hadn’t personally been looking forward to the dance, but he felt that Edd would be upset about it, and somehow it made him feel guilty that he was happy about something that could upset Edd. Tord pushed his way through the hall to the lockers and met Edd at his. He smiled sympathetically.

 

“Hey.” He put a hand on Edd’s shoulder. “Sorry they canceled the dance.” He said quietly. Edd gave a halfhearted shrug. “Eh, it’s okay. I don’t know if I would’ve enjoyed it either way. It’s like you said, it’s always gonna be too crowded. Besides, they were gonna have it in the cafeteria and it’s always so hot in there.” Tord shrugged. “I know, but you were looking forward to it…” He thought about it for a minute, and started walking to the doors. Edd trailed behind him.

 

“Hey, Edd. I know it’s not the same… But, uh… Would you want to do something with me tomorrow instead?” He asked. Edd perked up and said, “Definitely! What do you wanna do?” He walked beside Tord, tucking his hands into his hoodie. Tord stopped by the bench to put his bag down and take his jacket off. He shoved the jacket in his bag and looked at Edd.

 

“Geez, I don’t know how you can wear that thing in April. It’s so hot.” Tord complained, motioning to Edd's hoodie. Edd shrugged and grinned a little. “I just like hoodies, I guess.” Tord gave him a look and shook his head. “Anyway, I was thinking we could… Maybe… Skip school, and-” Edd scrunched up his face a little. “I’m not skipping, dude. I’m dumb, I can’t miss any of my classes.” He stuck his tongue out.

 

Tord pulled his backpack on and swatted Edd on the shoulder. “Shut the hell up, you’re not dumb. If anyone here’s dumb, it’s me. I’m a fuckin’ idiot.” He said as he straightened his sleeveless out. Edd eyed him and looked away. “Pssh. Says the guy who’s passing math without even trying. I have to work my ass off for a D.” Edd complained.

 

Tord replied, “Yeah, well, I suck at everything else, really.” Edd rolled his eyes. The two continued on their way. Tord looked over at Edd and asked, “So what do _you_ want to do then? I want tomorrow to be a day based around _you_.” He said.

 

Edd smiled a little and rubbed the back of his neck. “Geez… What are you, gay…” He asked jokingly. Tord shrugged and replied back, “Guess so.” Edd seemed to be in thought for a while. “Hmm… Can we just go to an arcade or something? Do they have any around here, actually?” Tord thought for a second, and then nodded.

 

“Yeah, they do. It’s around here somewhere, around the stores we usually get food near.” He motioned in the general direction. Edd nodded, his eyes lighting up a little. “That sounds really fun, we should do that then!” He exclaimed. Tord stifled a grin and nodded. Sometimes Edd made him feel so light, so elated, without even really doing anything. “Yeah, okay. We can do that.”

 

When Tord got home that night, everything seemed so much easier, and so much better. He finally ended up going to bed at a decent hour. He knew that Tom would probably try to plan something with Edd again, but at least he didn’t have to go through with that school dance. Those crowds and seeing Edd and Tom together probably would’ve put him in an awful mood for the rest of the semester, and the last thing he wanted to do was drive Edd away because of his own uncontrollable feelings.

 

As he fell asleep that night, he finally felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.


End file.
